Northeast Ohio seminar focuses on bin and silo entrapment rescue

Most individuals working in an agricultural setting know it can happen, but bins and silo entrapments still killed more than two dozen people in the United States last year. According to Purdue University, there were 51-grain entrapments in 2010, resulting in 26 deaths. You can learn how to prevent this dreadful outcome by attending the Northeast Ohio Bin and Silo Entrapment Seminar July 30.

“Like many things on a farm, grain bins pose a serious risk and failing to respect that can have devastating consequences,” said Jerry Palfy, an Industrial Safety Consultant for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. “Our goal in offering this session is to help first responders and the agricultural community to better understand, prevent and respond to incidents involving bins and silos.”

The seminar, which is being presented by BWC, W.I. Miller & Sons Farm, the Jack Doheny Companies and the Trumbull County Fire Chiefs Association, in cooperation with the Bazetta Fire Department, will feature a mock grain bin entrapment. This will allow participants to learn firsthand the proper way to save someone’s life. Participants will learn rescue techniques, Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements for storage facilities, the ways victims end up trapped in a bin and how to prepare for the unexpected, plus proper auger safety and rescue techniques.Professions benefitting from the seminar include agricultural producers, grain facility operators, asphalt and concrete operators and fire and rescue personnel. Palfy noted that four hours of continuing education will be available for Ohio fire and EMS personnel attending and Ohio Farm Bureau Group Sponsor Credits will also be available.

“Employers have a legal obligation to protect and train workers who enter bins,” said Palfy. “We’ve seen indications that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is paying close attention to this issue from an enforcement perspective, and our hope is that this seminar will help prepare employers.”

The seminar will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on July 30 at the W. I. Miller & Sons Farm, 3389 Gardner Barclay Rd., Farmdale. Registration begins at 8 a.m.

Experts conducting the seminar:

Andy Bauer – A lifetime farmer, Bauer is the branch manager of Heritage Co-op in London, Ohio. He has completed the Grain Elevator and Processing Society’s Bin Entry and Rescue Course for the Grain Industry in both 2006 and 2007. In addition, Bauer formed the Champaign Landmark Bin Rescue Team in 2006.

You can reserve your spot by calling the Bazetta Fire Department at 330-637-4136 or 330-638-5382. The cost is $10. You can pay on site or send a check to the Trumbull County Fire Chiefs Association at 773 Everett Hull Rd., Cortland, Ohio 44410.

Ohio Farm Bureau Federation is a member of American Farm Bureau Federation®, a national organization of farmers and ranchers including Farm Bureau® organizations in 49 other states and Puerto Rico, and is responsible for Farm Bureau membership and programs within the State of Ohio. Ohio Farm Bureau Federation programs and services are available only to Farm Bureau members within Ohio. The political views expressed in these pages represent Ohio Farm Bureau Federation's positions on various issues as they relate to Ohio. The positions of the national Farm Bureau organization collectively are expressed through American Farm Bureau Federation. Any opinions, statements or views expressed through comments or by outside contributors are the express views of those individuals and do not necessarily represent the views of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.